In a Heartbeat
by Woman of Rohan
Summary: During a quiet moment shared with Charon, The Lone Wanderer appreciates the value of the human heart. Hints of FemVaultie/Charon.


**AN: I suppose you can think of this as a belated Valentine's story 'cause it deals with hearts and all and it's a tad fluffy. I really missed Charon and Evelyn, seeing as I've been so obsessed with New Vegas lately. I started working on this quite a while ago, and had never finished it, so I figured I'd post it now that it's done :)**

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Evelyn walked through the doorway of her Megaton house to see Charon sitting in a chair with his armor unbuckled, apparently struggling to rid himself of his leather jacket. His movements were stiff, the lingering effects of a bullet wound in his shoulder.

She couldn't help but wince. In a way, the injury was her fault. While they were exploring a seemingly abandoned town only few days prior, Evelyn had scouted ahead and failed to notice a couple of Raiders sniping from within a building. Charon had removed her from harm, but not without taking a bullet in the process. It was surely not the first injury, and she highly doubted it would it be the last injury he'd receive while his contract was held by her. It was a sad but true fact that wherever she roamed, people seemed to get hurt. She just absolutely _hated _when it happened to be Charon.

Standing in the entrance of her house, Evelyn knew that her friend had seen her, and yet he continued to struggle for several moments without asking for any help. Evelyn pursed her lips, attempting not to laugh at his stubbornness. Charon's eyes met hers with an icy glare as she failed to stifle a snicker.

"I'm glad that my pain amuses you," he grumbled.

"Charon," she said, her voice soft. "It doesn't amuse me to see you in pain. That's a horrible thing to say."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"It's just ridiculous to see you struggling when I'm literally right here to help you. You've got a real hard head, you know that?"

"Hmmph."

Evelyn rolled her eyes at his response. Although they had been traveling together for quite a while now, Charon still seemed eager to tend to his own wounds when he was able. Evelyn suspected it was some kind of ego boost to not be aided by a "child" such as herself, but she always felt obligated to patch him up. It was a way of putting the skills learned by her father to good use.

"Come on now, let me help."

Charon shrugged, barely concealing a wince as he unintentionally moved his shoulder. "If you insist."

Evelyn walked over to the chair, grasping the collar of his jacket and gingerly slipping it down his arms. Now shirtless, Evelyn had a better view of his bloodied bandages, covering where the bullet had flown straight through the fleshy part of his shoulder. Although grim, it was better than having the bullet become lodged in muscle or bone. He was lucky this time.

"Do you want me to change these bandages?"

"If you'd like."

"Sure thing."

She retrieved some clean gauze from her medical supplies and began to unravel the soiled bandages that wrapped around his shoulder and chest. The crater in his shoulder was still oozing lightly, but it looked clean and generally free of infection. In fact, the edges already appeared less ragged than they had before.

Evelyn swore that ghouls healed at a faster rate than unaffected humans. One day, she'd like to prove this fact... but she highly doubted that Charon would be a willing guinea pig. After all, it was bad enough having Moira Brown eyeing him as if he were a lab rat every time they visited the Crater Side Supply. She vividly remembered an occurrence in which the enthusiastic shop owner had politely asked him for a skin sample. Charon had merely pulled out his over-sized hunting knife and said that it would be only be acceptable if he were to get one in return. The flustered look on Moira's face was one that Evelyn would never forget.

Evelyn smiled a little at the memory while she continued to examine Charon's injury. She took his hand within hers, gently rolling his shoulder at the joint to check his flexibility.

"Is it feeling all right? Probably a little stiff, huh?"

"It's fine."

Charon would probably say that if he lost both his legs.

"Well, it looks like it's healing nicely," she said, as she poured some antiseptic onto a cloth. "I'm gonna clean this up. Hold still, now."

Charon tensed as she cleansed the wound, but didn't utter a sound. Silence was one of the ghoul's distinctive qualities. She openly admitted that lack of words had driven her up the wall in their first weeks together but she had come to appreciate it and even admire it over time. Evelyn had initially thought that his penchant for quietness was due to apathy, or a certain level of callousness resulting from a hardened life in the Wasteland. But she had learned that it was merely his nature, nothing to be judged as either good or bad. It was just... Charon.

As she placed a hand upon his chest to steady him and wrap the fresh bandages, Evelyn could distinctively feel his heart beating in his chest. It brought an idea to mind. She finished wrapping the wound as Charon moved to put his shirt and jacket back on, but Evelyn halted him.

"Sit tight for a second."

Aren't you finished?" His tone did nothing to conceal is annoyance.

"Just do it, okay? Please?"

He seemingly couldn't argue with politeness, so he remained seated while Evelyn rustled through her medical supplies and produced a stethoscope from within its contents. She held it in her hands as Charon sat impatiently.

"Do you mind if I take a listen?"

Charon sighed. "I suppose not."

With a faint smile upon her features, Evelyn pulled up a chair across from him. She placed the tips of the device into her ears and then gently pressed the chestpiece to his breastbone. As soon as it made contact with his skin, Charon's breath hitched in his chest and he instinctively gripped her wrist. Evelyn frowned. She hadn't meant to make him uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, am I making you nervous?"

"That thing is damned cold," he grumbled through gritted teeth.

"Oh! Sorry 'bout that. Let's see if I can fix that for you..."

She held it in her hands for a minute or two in order to warm it up before placing it upon his chest again. This time, Evelyn allowed herself to close her eyes as she listened intently to the steady rhythm of his heart beating. It sounded remarkably strong and healthy. She wasn't sure why it surprised her, perhaps because of Charon's age or his ghoulish condition... or maybe even because he was the only other human heartbeat she'd ever heard aside from her own in the cold life of the Wasteland.

Evelyn's palm strayed upwards to the bandage over his shoulder, and her green eyes widened at realization of just how close it was to his heart. Charon had shrugged the injury off, but a couple of inches over, and he may not have been sitting before her in this very moment. In such a harsh environment, it was so easy to forget how lucky they were to have a scar instead of a missing limb, a scab forming instead of an infection, and most of all, able bodies that kept them going, and ultimately, their hearts beating.

They had seen their share of hardships, of course, but they had overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and they were alive. Often broken, often jaded, but very much alive. And she was ever-grateful to have Charon by her side through it all.

Evelyn was suddenly choked by an unexpected wave of emotion resulting from her whirlwind of thoughts. Overwhelmed, she couldn't help but reach her arms around his chest and squeeze him in a brief hug. Unsurprisingly, he didn't reciprocate.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away when she felt his body stiffen in her embrace. He looked a bit baffled at the unexpected display of affection, and she supposed that it was something he'd never truly get used to. Charon was certainly not the touchy-feely type.

"I'm just... really glad you're here," she blurted, feeling quite ridiculous. An embarrassed heat was rising into her cheeks. Evelyn cast her gaze downwards in hopes that he wouldn't notice, and a moment of silence passed before either of them spoke.

"So... how does it sound?" Charon's voice, although gruff, somehow sounded gentler. Was he trying to make her feel less awkward?

"What?"

"My heart."

"Oh, well... let me take another listen."

She was so lost in thought, she hadn't truly calculated his heart rate. As Evelyn pressed the stethoscope to his chest once again, her fair eyebrows raised at quite the unexpected sound...

Since she had hugged him, his heart rate had noticeably quickened.

Charon was patiently waiting for an answer, with his milky blue gaze fixed upon her. Evelyn couldn't help but smile sheepishly at him, her blush returning tenfold.

"Everything sounds just fine, Charon. Perfectly fine..."


End file.
